Sydney Newman

A tribute to Verity Lambert, the BBC's first female producer and one of the country's most influential pioneers of television drama.

Mysteries abound. What is going on between the wife and her brother? Are they indeed brother and sister? Sisson has his doubts about that … . Why does Sisson feel that there must be something wrong with his eyes, although he knows that he can see clearly and his eye doctor has assured him that his vision is perfect? He forces his secretary to tie a chiffon scarf over his eyes, and then he is able to make a pass at her, in response to one of her many come-ons. Ordinary events assume a sinister tinge. Sisson's two sons, giving him the deadpan treatment that little boys have been inflicting on their elders from time immemorial, seem as eerie as characters out of a ghost story. Always the questions remain. Is there a conspiracy against Sisson. Wikipedia

Canada's progress in jet aviation is seen in relation to that of other countries.

Canada's tenth province--its people, its resources, its way of life. The camera shows us St. John's, the capital city; Cornerbrook, pulp and paper centre; and Bell Island with its iron mine. The greatest wealth of Newfoundland is her people, and a visit with Fred Greeley, inshore fisherman and his family, introduces us to our fellow Canadians. Finally the importance of Newfoundland's airports is stressed, and we visit Gander, where international air travellers come and go from the four corners of the globe.

A look at the life and work of television producer Innes Lloyd

An agent invites his young starlet to a party, to meet all the right people. A chance to move on from the commercials she has been doing, to bigger roles and maybe stardom. However while she is there, she realizes there is a price to pay...

Mysteries abound. What is going on between the wife and her brother? Are they indeed brother and sister? Sisson has his doubts about that … . Why does Sisson feel that there must be something wrong with his eyes, although he knows that he can see clearly and his eye doctor has assured him that his vision is perfect? He forces his secretary to tie a chiffon scarf over his eyes, and then he is able to make a pass at her, in response to one of her many come-ons. Ordinary events assume a sinister tinge. Sisson's two sons, giving him the deadpan treatment that little boys have been inflicting on their elders from time immemorial, seem as eerie as characters out of a ghost story. Always the questions remain. Is there a conspiracy against Sisson. Wikipedia

Canada's progress in jet aviation is seen in relation to that of other countries.

Canada's tenth province--its people, its resources, its way of life. The camera shows us St. John's, the capital city; Cornerbrook, pulp and paper centre; and Bell Island with its iron mine. The greatest wealth of Newfoundland is her people, and a visit with Fred Greeley, inshore fisherman and his family, introduces us to our fellow Canadians. Finally the importance of Newfoundland's airports is stressed, and we visit Gander, where international air travellers come and go from the four corners of the globe.

Canada's tenth province--its people, its resources, its way of life. The camera shows us St. John's, the capital city; Cornerbrook, pulp and paper centre; and Bell Island with its iron mine. The greatest wealth of Newfoundland is her people, and a visit with Fred Greeley, inshore fisherman and his family, introduces us to our fellow Canadians. Finally the importance of Newfoundland's airports is stressed, and we visit Gander, where international air travellers come and go from the four corners of the globe.

An agent invites his young starlet to a party, to meet all the right people. A chance to move on from the commercials she has been doing, to bigger roles and maybe stardom. However while she is there, she realizes there is a price to pay...

Jacko, a respected union man, is fighting for the promotion of a Jamaican colleague to chargehand, but when his daughter brings home her black boyfriend, he realises that racial prejudice is rife within his own home. This powerful drama exposes the deep-seated racial tensions hidden in British family life during the late 1950s. Written for the stage by Unity Theatre's Ted Willis, this television recording was filmed a few weeks after the play's successful West End run, and most of the stage cast repeat their roles here, including the terrific John Slater, Andree Melly and Lloyd Reckord. The drama's interracial kiss is probably the first to be shown on British TV.

An old man is rescued from Iceland. Why would you need rescuing from Iceland - unless you're Adolf Hitler...

A demonstration of the basic skills required to ski.

A demonstration of the basic skills required to ski.

A retired couple with many unresolved old scores to settle, argue and bicker while their world decays around them.

A child spends two weeks in a summer camp at Muskoka, Ontario. This short film presents a delightful portrait of a young boy's sojourn at summer camp. In idyllic mid-century fashion, two weeks at a Muskoka summer camp are presented as a welcome respite from the congestion of an urban area. From the preliminary scramble for the upper bunk in the cabin to exploring in the woods, cooking food over a fire, and—most exciting of all—passing the beginner's swimming test, Roger's camp adventures are full of joy, camaraderie, and learning.

Documentary films about air mail. Dramatizes the near-collision of a Trans-Canada Air Lines Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra airliner with an Avro Anson training aircraft.

When the inland revenue gets an angry mistress's letter exposing a man named Toby as a tax cheat, they quietly put pressure on him. Toby panics, and hires an unscrupulous lawyer named Elvin, but he has a hard time taking his advice.

Dad has been living with daughter Jessy for years and she needs a break. She suggests he could live with her prosperous brother George. George has other ideas.

A television play from Armchair Theatre. Dr. Fancy is charged following the death of Mrs. Sprat's son. The court case exposes a series of bizarre operations.

Lancashire newlyweds Violet and Arthur Fitton are forced to postpone their honeymoon and move in temporarily with his parents.

This short documentary features a portrait of Ottawa in the mid-20th century, as the nascent Canadian capital grew with force but without direction. Street congestion, air pollution, and rail traffic were all the negative results of a city that had grown without being properly planned. French architect and urban designer Jacques Gréber stepped in to create a far-sighted plan for the future development of Ottawa. With tracks moved, factories relocated, and neighbourhoods redesigned as separate communities, Ottawa became the capital city of true beauty and dignity we know today.

This short film showcases the city of Montreal on a summer's night. What was once a small Indian village is presented as a pot-pourri of contrasting sights and sounds. It is North America's second largest port and, after Paris, the world's largest French-speaking city. With its warehouses, offices, homes, clubs and amusement parks, the city serves as a bright backdrop for a happy couple out on the town.

A young woman befriends a lonely millionaire with a disfigured face whose ruthless business practices are threatening to ruin her father. A modern take on the old story of Beauty and the Beast.

Documentary short from the NFB Canada Carries On series on dancing from the different cultures in Canada.

During World War II Norwegian patriots struck at Germany from the rear, linking Canada, the United States and Britain with Soviet Russia. Norwegian resources around the world were mobilized, and at Canadian training stations Norwegian airmen forged a lasting friendship between the two countries. Includes footage from the British film All for Norway.

It's a talent showcase for a singer.

It's a talent showcase for a singer.

Senior officials in the British, American and Russian governments all receive the same cryptic and unsigned message - "I Can Destroy The Sun". What can it mean?

This short film depicts the strength and resources of the Royal Canadian Air Force, with its 32 overseas squadrons. It includes footage that explains the Allied air strategy of hitting the German army's nerve centres and features Canadian airplanes destroying a German munitions train.

The personal and social tragedy of drug addiction with its evil accompaniment, drug traffic. Over the side of the silent liner in the darkness slips the package of smuggled narcotics, introducing us to the complex problem which involves all races and classes of man. We see many aspects of addiction - the addict preparing an injection, a group waiting tensely for their dope peddler; agents preparing and adulterating the illegal product; the police catching a pusher red-handed. International and national authorities are working from two angles - suppression of the illicit traffic; and where possible, rehabilitation of the addict.

Saville is told by a palm reader he is doomed to become a murderer at some future time. He decides to get the inevitable out of the way before his upcoming society wedding, and goes about attempting the crime on several likely victims.

A group discover a famous designer and their entrepreneur sees this as a chance to have his name associated with their new production. The leading lady is outraged at the way they intend to exploit the old man.

In the 1940s thousands of immigrants are coming from Europe to Canada offering strength and skills in exchange for hope and a new life. 'The long night is ended, the morning draws nigh,' sums up the feelings of those who are sped through immigration formalities on their way to a fresh existence. Though the language may be different, these new Canadians soon find things in Canada that remind them of Holland, Poland or Belgium. Some immigrants carry on with their old trades--sewing, farming, diamond cutting. Others, on huge projects such as Des Joachims, use their muscles to help build their adopted homeland, while their love of culture and their skilled professions will make valuable contributions to Canada in the future.

This short documentary looks at the deep gorge of the Fraser River, shadowed by the mountain ranges of British Columbia. It is a highway for the mysterious migration of the Pacific salmon. The river shallows appear red with the flailing fish as they push up-river to spawn and die. A natural wonder puzzling to the scientist, the fish migration of spring and summer provides renewed activity for fishermen and cannery workers.

This report on the conditions in a Canadian penitentiary focusses on the treatments developed to reduce the amount of recidivism.

Against the wishes of his domineering mother, Albert Stokes attends a work party. But the evening is not the escape he was hoping for.

Peter drives his uncle and his friends to the countryside to take part in a fishing match. Meeting Kath he tells her stories of his father's travels but discovers a picture of him taken in Skegness and knows he's living a lie.

Canada's northwest has been opened up by the Alaska Highway. This film looks at the construction of the highway and at the resources and development in the surrounding areas.

This short documentary offers a look at Canada’s Chalk River Project in the late 1940s. While humanity pondered the ultimate threat or promise of atomic energy, Chalk River scientists worked on the first set of experiments that attempted to apply atomic energy to medical and biological uses. Inside the Atom examines this frontier of science and assesses its value in terms of human progress.

With simple ceremony on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Newfoundlanders are welcomed as fellow-Canadians. Prime Minister St. Laurent starting off the carving of Newfoundland's coat of arms in the tenth and formerly blank shield over the entrance to the Parliament Buildings, writing in stone another chapter of Confederation. So begins this survey of Canada's tenth province, Newfoundland, its resources and how its people live. The film takes us to St. John's, Corner Brook, Bell Island, and includes a visit to Labrador where we see the giant airport at Gander.

Montreal’s Botanical Gardens are a storehouse of the wonders of nature. From all over the world scientists have gathered a living collection of plants and flowers, providing delight for the casual visitor and rich material for the student of botany. The actual process of plant growth is revealed for us by the time-lapse camera. We see a practical result of the botanist’s work in British Columbia’s important seed industry. Children, too, at the Montreal Botanical Gardens, cultivating their own plots of ground, take part in the quest for the secrets of nature.

In Ulster, Major Trumbull is put in charge of overseeing the completion of a hospital on time. As the pressure increases, he replaces well-liked foreman Desmond Doherty with brash Scanling, which angers the men.

Geoffrey Hansbury's clothing empire is on the verge of collapse. His health his deteriorating and relies on his secretary Jane Harrison, who is also his mistress. All their efforts are needed to get the deal that will save his business.

This short documentary is part of the Canada Carries On series. At the end of World War II there were sixty million sick and starving children in Europe. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration undertook to provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education and sympathetic attention to these terrorized victims of war.